Three Years
by aussie-chick-13
Summary: Three years after that fateful visit to the bank Alex Rider, aka Cub, is healthy as he can be, happy and currently residing with K-Unit at Brecon Beacons. What happens when one day he gets news that will turn his life upside down? Rated T for language
1. Chapter 1

_Yes I should be working on the third chapter of ITATC. But…..I'm not. Because I have major writers block. So, I'm writing this. Not to mention its much more light hearted. Unlike ALL of my other stories. Anyway, I love Alex goes back to SAS and Alex's school goes to Brecon Beacons. So I decided to write my own with a bit of twist. Sorry if this has been done before, but I haven't read any so I couldn't have actually stolen anything. _

_Enjoy! (and pretty please review? More reviews=more inspiration to write=quick updates ;D)_

_Also this is non-beta'd and I stuck at proof-reading so if anyone wants to be my beta that would be awesome, if not then there made be some mistakes.  
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Everything started three years ago.

Three years ago his uncle died.

Three years ago he first stepped into that god-forsaken bank.

Three years ago it began.

At first he hated it. Absolutely despised it. But then when he was 15 and halfway through year ten he'd put his foot down. Enough was enough. Either they let him have a half decent chance of passing his GCSEs or he stops. Permanently.

Obviously it worked. He didn't hear anything for 8 months. A tutor also showed up at his house. 6 months later he had passed his final tests and was feeling pretty good about life.

Jack had left half a year ago. He'd explained the blackmail and he didn't want her to get hurt anymore. With one last assurance that he'd be safe Jack had left. He was self sufficient enough to get by especially now that they were paying him.

He was given two months of rest before being called and asked to come in. And for the first time he did so with a light heart. They'd explained the situation to him. Told him he'd be safer and get more training. He'd have a tutor. He didn't like the idea of having to leave his friends. But they'd assured him that he could send cards. Fake addresses of course. But there would be able to be contact.

Those 8 months of peace had given him time to reflect of his life and his choices.

So yeah. Three years ago everything started. But for once, he was happy.

Alex Rider's life was good.

Most of the time.

"God damn it, Eagle. Eagle! EAGLE!" Cub practically screamed. It seemed to work, the SAS operative known by the codename Eagle, unceremoniously flipped out of his bed and landed with a thud on the floor. He stood up quickly and looked around blearily.

"What? Cub? What's going on?" Just as the 17 year old was about to answer he noticed Eagle attire…or rather lack of it.

"Jesus Eagle put some pants on," Cub said averting his eyes. He got now why Wolf had sent him to wake up Eagle. He sighed angrily; sometimes it sucked being the youngest. Eagle looked down.

"Oh,"

"Pants Eagle. Now would be good," Eagle snapped out of his sleep-induced shock and scrambled for clothes.

"Ok I'm good," Cub turned back around.

"No you're late. Hurry up," Cub said heading for the door. Just as he leaved he tossed Eagle and muesli bar and an apple.

"You missed breakfast," Eagle caught the food and smiled. Cub could be a down right brat at times but now he was older. He just….fit in. The other units accepted him and K-Unit had taken him in as a little brother. Especially now that Fox was back.

K-Unit had been given a year of ground-duty. No overseas work unless there was a major emergency. So for the last six months they'd been going through further training in what was basically advanced basic. As well as doing some teaching with the newest recruits. That was when they'd met up with Cub again. It was clear that him and Fox were on good terms. And that, combined with Cub being older, started his true acceptance into SAS.

Cub had only been pulled out once and only for 10 days. But nevertheless it didn't sit well with the rest of K-Unit that he'd come back with one arm in a sling, 3 fractured ribs as well as sporting several impressive bruises and a broken nose. But Cub refused to talk about it. All he'd say was that considering the circumstances, he had been lucky. Fox had been visibly upset and it made the others wonder about how truly dangerous the boy's missions were.

Cub jogged to the firing range for their first teaching lesson of the day. Unlike Scorpia, SAS didn't teach instinctive shooting so Cub was the only one who did it. It was for this reason he loved when they were scheduled to teach firearms. He was let off. He couldn't teach how the SAS did so he was just allowed to practice. They were 15 minutes into the lesson when Eagle arrived. After a brief argument between him and Wolf the lesson continued. Cub wandered over after about 45 minutes. He needed a break from shooting, and the lessons were occasionally fun to watch. He leant against the wall for a while listening to Wolf and Fox lecture the new recruits about assembling and disassembling guns. It reminded Cub that his gun had felt a little weird while he was shooting, like it was about to jam. Probably dirt in the barrel. He pushed off the wall and walked over to the demonstration table. Snake glanced at him, what was Cub doing?

His arrival hadn't gone unnoticed by the recruits either. One in particular took an immediate dislike to the blonde.

"Who's the kid?" the recruit, Cougar, called out cutting off Wolf. He paled slightly as the Unit leader turned an impressive glare on him.

"Excuse me?" Wolf asked quietly. Cougar swallowed nervously.

"Who's the kid?" he asked again this time gesturing towards Cub, who was watching the exchange with slight interest. Wolf glanced back at Cub.

"That's Cub. He's in our unit," Wolf said matter-of-factly. Cougar frowned.

"If he actually is," the man made it clear he didn't believe it. "Why isn't he teaching then?" Just as Wolf was about to reply, Cub cut in.

"I didn't learn to shoot here,"

"Cub," Wolf started. The blonde held up a hand.

"When I was fourteen I learnt instinctive shooting. We don't have time to teach you all how to do that here. Not to mention it's incredible impractical in the types of situations you're going to find yourselves in," Cub told them calmly.

"If you make it that is," That last sentence was directed at Cougar. The teen's cool voice and piercing gaze shut the recruits up. Cub nodded to Wolf and grabbed a few cleaning tools and retreated to a bench behind K-Unit, far enough away not to be a distraction but close enough to hear most of what was going on. Cub spent the next few minutes disassembling, thoroughly cleaning and reassembling his gun. Satisfied with his handiwork Cub wandered back to the range and continued practising. He didn't even noticed when K-Unit and the recruits started watching his performance. After a last couple of rounds Cub stopped. He placed the gun down and pressed the button to draw in the targets. Cub picked up his targets from before he had cleaned the gun and compared them. Happy with the result, the blonde turned around. He stopped at the sight of the group of recruits staring at him incredulously. Cub bit back a smirk.

"You guys done then?" He asked Wolf. The older man nodded.

"Yeah, we're handing them off to Sergeant Robinson," Wolf gave the recruits directions and they started filing out. As they were Cougar paused by Cub. The men watched warily, confrontations between the youngest member of their group and recruits never ended well. And recruits weren't all that easy to find.

"Hey, I…er…just wanted to apologise for before. I don't always think before I speak," Cub was a little surprised, it hadn't been what he was expecting at all. Recovering quickly he clapped Cougar on the shoulder.

"No hard feelings, you aren't the first and you sure as hell won't be the last. Don't stress it," Cougar let out and obviously sigh of relief and then ran after the rest of his group. Cub turned the wolf and the others.

"Not what I was expecting," Fox laughed and nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, normally your _meetings_ with recruits involvement a lot more," Fox paused, as if searching for the right word.

"Violence," Cub looked insulted.

"It's not always my fault," Wolf rolled his eyes.

"Come on. We have that meeting with the sergeant remember?" he said walking off. Eagle was confused.

"Meeting?" he asked hurrying after their leader. "What meeting?"

"The one we were told about while you were snoring in bed," Cub was only just fast enough to duck the hand Eagle swiped at his head.

"I do not snore," Snake and Fox exchanged glances, not this _again_. Cub seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"You know what? Forget about it Eagle. You definitely don't snore," Eagle was too distracted by his 'victory' over Cub to catch the sarcasm in his words. The men chatted until the reached the Sergeants office. Wolf sharply knocked on the wood door twice.

"Come in," a gruff voice called out. The four men, and one teen, entered silently and stood at attention.

"At ease, gentlemen," Sarg was sitting behind a desk that was practically covered with files. Catching the looks of astonishment on K-Unit's faces, he sighed.

"Yes this is with why you're here," He stated, answering the question all of them wanted to ask. Cub couldn't help but glance at the files, each one with a name on the top.

_Leo Ryans_

_Brandon Fuller_

_Samuel Thomas_

_Robert Wigan_

_Ross Simpson_

Cub frowned. He knew those names. He continued scanning. Eventually his eyes hit one name and he felt physically sick.

_Thomas Harris_

What the hell was going on? Now he recognised the names, they were all boys from his old school. Ignoring regulation and throwing all the rules out the window Cub glared at The Sergeant.

"What the fuck is this?" The rest of K-Unit looked at him like he was crazy.

"What are you thinking Cub?" Wolf hissed. Sarg sighed.

"No in this instance I understand Cub's…. evident dislike for the situation," Fox was the only one who truly noticed how pissed the teen was. Having worked with Cub for longer and in closer situations, he'd gotten good at reading the minuscule signs of anger, grief, happiness and annoyance the blonde showed.

"Despite countless recommendations for the program to go ahead, the government is trialling a self-defence and semi-work experience program to be run in schools. A select trial group of 24 school boys has been picked and they are being send here," The look of disgust of Wolf's face was impressive.

"Schoolchildren. Here," Wolf was lost for words after that.

"Yes, it's some ridiculous plan to raise the levels of recruits going into the military," Cub scoffed.

"What an excellent plan. You do realise that these kids," Cub leant on the desk, pointing at the files. "They're from _my_ old school. They _know_ me," Sarg sighed.

"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do, I raised the issue countless times. Apparently Blunt is more confident in your change of appearance and lying skills than any of us," Cub pushed himself off the desk and span around, eyes flashing. Surprisingly Eagle was the one thinking about the situation.

"When do they arrive?" Sarg raised his eyebrows and steeled himself from the inevitable outburst coming.

"Two days," Cub stopped his pacing and froze. _Two days_. He shook his head and stormed out. Sarg sighed. He gathered up the files and handed them to Wolf.

"Tell Cub that he won't be punished for his outburst, but I won't be lenient next time. Dismissed," Wolf nodded wordlessly and headed out the others following.

Not a word was said until they reached the hut. Wolf immediately starting going through files. After a minute Eagle and Snake started helped him. Fox just sighed angrily at Cub's absence; he ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm gonna go find him before he does something stupid,"

Finding Cub was easy, the boy had a habit of dealing with motional things physically. Fox found him running the assault course. He sat and waited at the end. Within a few minutes Cub turned up, panting for breath. He took one look at Fox and turned to start jogging to the start again. Fox sighed and got to his feet, running after Cub. Pretty soon he had caught up with the younger man.

"Why are you beaten up about this? They're not going to recognise you. We'll dye your hair if we have to," Cub stopped abruptly.

"_That's_ why I'm so beaten up about this Ben. I don't want to lie to my friends anymore. I already am and that's bad enough," They stood in silence for a while, Ben understanding Alex's issue with the whole thing and Alex struggling to control himself.

"Tom will know,"

"What?"

"Tom will know it's me, he knew about…everything MI6, you guys, everything. He'll know it's me," Ben was shocked.

"Jesus Alex,"

"I know, I shouldn't have told him. But it wasn't exactly easy. MI6 was using me, and I didn't get _anything_ no support, no downtime, no pay. I _needed_ someone," Ben swore quietly.

"No wonder you went off at them. We gotta go back, talk with Wolf and the others. We've only got two days to prepare," Cub nodded sullenly and they started walking back to the hut.

"And think about it Cub, there's gonna be kids you weren't…_fond_ of, shall we say, and they're here for a month," a shadow of a smile passed over Cub's face.

"And the lake is _awfully_ cold this time of year,"


	2. Chapter 2

_Ok. I'm so sorry for the ridiculous wait between chapters. Schoolwork has been pretty heavy. But I will try to post the next chapter sooner. But as always reviews do encourage me. And by encourage I mean that they guilt me into writing._

_As per normal I don't have a beta so if you pick up any mistakes please tell me_

_:D hope you enjoy_

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The plan was for Cub to stay in the background while the school kids were there.

Just stay out of sight as much as he could.

Hopefully none of them would actually get a long enough look at him to recognise him.

However, as Wolf was beginning to truly understand, nothing _ever_ went to plan when the youngest member of their group was involved.

The day after they'd heard about the news K-Unit had been running through a situation in the killing house as well as planning ways to "teach" the kids. All was fine until Cub tripped, fell through a hole in the floorboards on the second floor and landed on a coffee table. He was unconscious when Wolf had jumped down and stayed that way until he arrived in the infirmary. Cub ended up with a serious concussion, some badly bruised ribs and gash in his abdomen where a large splinter of wood from the table he landed on had cut into him.

Fox had stalked off angrily muttering about how the kid couldn't keep out of trouble even when he wasn't on a bloody mission.

Eagle had been in hysterics about how the teenage superspy tripped and fell through the floor.

Snake was just concerned about Cub's health.

And Wolf? Wolf was pissed that he was the only realising the threat this posed for the next three weeks.

Little did Wolf know, his worries would soon be realised.

0900 hours the next day saw Cub asleep in his bunk and completely oblivious to the chaos outside.

Wolf had a frustrated hand over his face…again. These kids were ridiculous. They'd arrived half and hour and hadn't stopped talking yet. They seemed to completely ignore the presence of K-Unit. Every attempt to get their attention had failed.

"Oh for gods sake," Wolf muttered.

"SHUT UP you worthless wastes of space," he yelled. An eerie silence descended as the 24 boys noticed the 4 figures all glaring at the rabble. Several of the boys exchanged scared glances as Fox, Eagle and Snake started pacing around the group. When Wolf starting speaking again there wasn't a single pair of eyes that wasn't focused on him.

"The first thing you need to know is we do not want you here. We never did," Wolf glared at the crowd again.

"You are here for three weeks. The first week will be assessment, fitness, strength, endurance these are some of things that will be tested. Second week will be training, what you do will depend on how you perform in the first week," Wolf paused and Fox picked up seamlessly from where his unit leader stopped.

"Do not think this gives you an excuse to slack off. We will notice. You will be punished. At the start of the second week you will be split into 6 teams of four," Eagle now continued.

"Don't complain if you're not with your friends. We don't care, you'll have to deal with it. In the third week will give you a chance to apply what you've learnt," Next to talk was Snake.

"The most important thing you need to know is to not take this as a joke. Be respectful to us and the other units currently here. In fact be respectful to everyone here, because you are lower in status than all of them," Just as Wolf was about to continue he was cut off, someone behind him coughed…and then sweared.

"Fuck, ow," Wolf sighed and closed his eyes briefly before turning around. He was about to snap at Cub for being out of the cabin but stopped himself. The kid looked like shit. He didn't have a shirt on and, despite bandages covering most of his torso; Wolf could see the bruises covering his chest. And…a small tattoo, just above the kid's hip. Wolf noted, he'd have to ask about that. While Wolf had been staring in shock, whispers were running through the group of kids. Snake had acted first and was at Cub's side before Wolf had even turned back around to deal with the kids.

"Why the hell are you awake Cub?" Snake growled.

"Because I'm not asleep?" The blonde replied. Snake clipped him gently over the head.

"Ow," Cub complained.

"Next time don't be a smart-ass," Snake replied, ushering the 17-year old back inside. Wolf frowned but forced himself to turn back to the kids. All of them were whispering in huddled pairs or small groups, many were openly staring at Cub. Well, all except one. Wolf recognised his face, it was Tom Harris, Fox had talked to Wolf about this kid. Apparently he'd been Cub best friend or something. Harris was standing by himself, staring at where Cub had been standing. Wolf watched as his face flickered between shock, anger, disbelief and back again.

"Right you lot shut up!" Wolf found himself yelling again.

"As we were saying, don't treat this as a joke. To you," Wolf said spitting out the collective name. "My name is Wolf, this is Eagle and Fox. Snake just went inside," Wolf gestured to his teammates. "You will address everyone as sir, and-" Wolf was cut off for the second time. This time it was one of the kids.

"What about that other guy? The one all bruised? I mean, who's he…," Wolf levelled a glare at the kid and the boy trailed off nervously.

"That's none of your concern," Wolf said coldly, he then nodded to Fox who started leading the kids away to the tents they would be staying in. Eagle following, taking obvious joy in yelling at the stragglers. Wolf watched in amazement for a while before heading into the cabin. They were giving the kids an hour to unpack and settle in, lenient by Wolf's standards but it meant they didn't have to be around 24 sixteen and seventeen year olds. He pushed the door open and walked straight to Cub, who was propped up on pillows in his bed but still awake.

"Why?" Wolf asked simply, sitting down on the adjacent bed. "Why didn't you just stay inside? How hard is that?" Cub raised his eyebrows.

"I honestly forgot about it. You know, with my concussion Wolf," The unit leader opened his mouth to reply but no words came out. Cub smirked.

"Yeah, you have to be nice to me now cos I'm all injured," Cub said cockily. He laughed when Wolf just growled in response. A comfortable silence descended as Snake picked up a book, Wolf started cleaning his gun and Cub just tried to get in a semi-comfortable position.

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"It's bloody ridiculous,"

"I was never like that,"

"That would be because you were probably worse Eagle,"

"I was not,"

Wolf, Snake and Cub looked to the door. They could hear Fox giving Eagle shit as usual. The two walked in, Eagle sulking and Fox with laughter glittering in his eyes. Cub stared at Fox expectantly. The older man shook his head.

"They don't suspect anything," He paused. "Well, anything we were worried about," Wolf's eyes narrowed.

"What does that mean?" Fox smirked and shook his head.

"You do _not_ want to know," Fox said, verging on laughter again.

"Fox," Wolf growled and glared at him. Fox raised his hands in defeat.

"Ok, ok, I'll tell. It's just," he sighed. "It's bloody amazing what conclusions kids come to," he shook his head.

"Ok, so one of the kids thinks…

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_The schoolchildren's cabin:_

"I still think that he's that Snake guy's son,"

"No way that's possible, everyone knows about SAS guys," one boy said winking. Everyone laughed.

"Ok, then back to the criminal theory,"

"Murderer?"

"Nah, he's too casual, not evil enough,"

"Thief,"

"Not twitchy enough,"

"Twitchy?"

"Yeah, all thieves are nervous and twitchy,"

"Ok whatever,"

There was a brief silence.

"What about a drug dealer?"

"Hmmm, maybe,"

Brandon Fuller frowned. What was the name of that kid a few years back?

Andrew?

Allan?

Alec?

No.

Alex. Alex Rider. Apparently he was a druggie. He finished his GCSE's, but never came back to school after the holidays. Brandon frowned again. Something was off here, but he couldn't quite place it…

"Oi, Brandon what to you think? Drug dealer?" Brandon glanced at one of the other boys.

"Nah, he's not fat enough,"

"You all saw those bruises though right?"

"Yeah,"

"Well duh, they were kinda obvious,"

"Well," the boy paused dramatically. "What if he's a prisoner?"

He got several looks of disbelief.

"Nah, I'm serious. It fits, he's being held here and questioned. Which is why they didn't want us to see him," Several of the boys started nodding.

"Yeah,"

"That kinda makes sense actually,"

"Poor guy, I wonder what he did?"

"Well _I_ think that…


	3. Chapter 3

_Hello all, the results for the poll (which is still on) have been consistently close between this and Cold. So I'll probably end up writing another chapter for Cold too, but anyways, this is kinda shortish but considering I haven't been writing for ages I'm happy with it :]_

_Thanks again for your support everyone!_

_And remember reviews guilt me into writing, so please R&R_

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"They think _what_?"

Cub was torn between laughter and going to the kids' hut and strangling them all.

"I do _not_ look old enough to have a 17 year old son," Snake said horrified. Eagle mock sighed.

"I'm sorry Snake I guess you're just getting on, but don't worry-" he was cut off mid-sentence as Snake smacked him on the back of the head. Cub frowned.

"They actually think I'm being held here against my will?" he asked, looking to Fox for confirmation. Fox just nodded. Cub raised his eyebrows.

"Well, that's…interesting…I suppose. At least they don't think I'm in a gang anymore," he mused, more to himself than to the others. Wolf looked at him sharply.

"A gang?" he snapped. Cub rolled his eyes.

"I spend more time out of school then I did in school for eighteen months, and when I came back I was covered in bruises. What else were they going to think?" Eagle and Wolf looked quite taken aback by this information. Alex had talk at lengths with Ben about his previous missions and the time he spent out of school, and Snake knew because he was the medic but hadn't gotten around to talking with his other team members.

"Eighteen months? How did you past your GCSEs?" Eagle asked.

Cub shrugged. "I decided that enough was enough, they gave me a tutor and eight months off work,"

Wolf raised his eyebrows. "Only eight?"

Cub just shrugged again. "It was enough," he said simply, tone indicating he didn't want to continue the conversation. There was a slightly awkward silence for a moment before it was broken by, not surprisingly, Eagle who clapped his hands together loudly and stood up.

"Well, I'm going to the mess hall, see if there's anyone around. We can't be the only ones off duty," Snake stood as well.

"I'll join you, I think," As the two men left Wolf stood up.

"Shooting range," he grunted and stalked off. Cub and Fox looked at each other for a moment. Alex sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I need to get some fresh air, I'm going for a run," he muttered. Ben stood up with him.

"Do you want some company?" he asked gently, and wasn't surprised when Alex shook his head.

"I need to clear my head Ben," The older man nodded.

"I'm staying here, I need some sleep," Alex remembered the solo night op Ben had had to do the night before and nodded. "So if you need to talk, I'm here," Ben offered a smile, which Alex returned, albeit not quite as strongly. Alex quickly pulled on a shirt and a pair of sneakers. Ben drew the blackout blinds across the window and kicked off his boots, as Alex left.

"Don't over do it!" he called out to Alex's already retreating figure. The blond just waved a hand in acknowledgment. Ben shook his head in exasperation, and then lay down on the bed. He fell asleep almost instantly, a talent that the other members of his unit were jealous of.

Alex found himself taking the track that would curve around past the students' huts. He knew that he should be keeping his distance but he couldn't help being curious. He hadn't seen these kids for a long time. Granted, there were quite a few he never wanted to see again but some were old friends, people Alex wished he'd been able to re-connect with but hadn't quite got there. And then there was Tom. Alex felt horrible about lying to Tom. Ever since that train ride after Venice, whilst Alex didn't always tell Tom everything he didn't lie either. Except with this. Alex knew Tom didn't fully believe his cover and everything could very easily go to shit with Tom being here. Alex winced and slowed to a walk, he rested a hand on his ribs. The pain was bearable it was just uncomfortable. He tried to straighten up but that just pulled on the stiches in his stomach. Alex let out a hiss and hoped he hadn't torn any of them.

"Hey, um are you okay?" Alex span around at the voice. One of the school kids was standing behind him, holding a water bottle and looking slightly scared. Alex just looked carefully at the kid for a moment, the boy shifted uncomfortable. This guy, who the students had dubbed The Hostage, was bloody creepy. Alex continued to study the boy for several long moments, the kid had brown hair, was shorter than Alex (the blonde had finally come into his growth spurt), but quite stocky, his face was vaguely recognisable, but Alex couldn't put a name to him.

"Yeah, I'm good," he said simply. The kid nodded and just stood there awkwardly, he almost jumped when 'The Hostage' spoke again. "What's your name?"

"Sam," the boy replied warily. Alex nodded, then titled his head slightly and a small smirk appeared on his face.

"So, _Sam_, why are you out here? I thought you guys were told to say in the cabins," Alex questioned, sounding quite amused with the whole thing. Sam glanced around nervously and licked his suddenly dry lips.

"Yeah, I know, I um I just was thirsty and I couldn't find anywhere to get any water so I went looking for a tap," he trailed off at the end. Alex just rolled his eyes, sighed and walked straight past Sam heading towards the cabins.

"Come on, I'll show you," he called out. "Because I seriously doubt following directions is your strong point," he muttered to himself. Sam almost tripped over his feet in his haste to follow the blonde. He followed Alex around the back of the cabins and watched as the taller boy pulled aside a struggling bush to reveal a slightly rusty tap. A group of students sitting on the front porch area couldn't help but stare as the mysterious blonde walked quite happily past them followed by Sam.

"The water's cold but it's clean and fresh and good to drink," Alex explained. Sam nodded, then finally got up the courage to ask the question that all of the students wanted to ask.

"So, um, what happened to you? Like the bandages and stuff?" Alex paused as he straightened. He could tell the truth, but then Alex remembered the theories that Fox and Eagle had shared with the unit. He smiled slightly.

"Oh yeah that, Russian mob," he explained casually as he turned around. The look on Sam's face was priceless.

"Wait what do you mean?" he asked. Alex shrugged.

"Oh you know, I had a little run in with them, we had some minor disagreements about some of my activities. No biggie," he said with a smile, then clapped Sam on the shoulder.

"Look I have to go, but it was great talking to you," Alex turned and jogged off in the direction of K-Unit's cabin. Sam just stared for a moment, then realised he had uncovered vital evidence and raced into the cabin to tell the others.

One student didn't seem at all eager to hear Sam's news. Tom Harris frowned as he watched the blonde's retreating figure. He knew that it was Alex, who else could it be? What he didn't get was why Alex was lying to him. Tom had been told that Alex had moved to boarding school on the other side of the country. Tom's frown deepened, why the hell was Alex lying to him?

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_Later that night_

"So, what are we doing with the kidlets tomorrow?" Fox and Snake ignored the name Eagle had bestowed on the students and Cub merely raised an eyebrow. Wolf groaned and put his head in his hands, muttering about strangling Eagle. Then he looked up at Cub, the blond swallowed nervously, that wasn't a good look.

"What are you thinking Wolf?" the youngest team member asked nervously. Wolf grinned, looking very much like his namesake.

"Seeing as you were the one to mess up this morning," Wolf raised a hand and ignored Cub's indignant cry of 'Concussion!'. "It was you, concussion or not. You will be running point with the brats tomorrow morning, until lunch and then I'll take over," he grinned at Cub's look of dismay. "Which means," he continued. "You will be getting up nice and early to wake them up," it was Cub's turn to groan, Wolf ignored the death-glare sent his way. "Give them a tour, show them the course and the lake," Wolf didn't miss the evil looking smirk on Cub's face at the mention of the lake.

"Seeing as I doubt the children will get up quietly tomorrow, I recommend everyone gets some sleep while they can," The other men all nodded in agreement and went to their appropriate beds. Soon enough lights were flicked out and the only noise was the rustling of blankets. Well, almost only.

"I wager a 20 that Cub gets into a fight tomorrow," Eagle whispered. Fox looked at him carefully for a moment.

"Your on, Alex has more restraint than that," he whispered back. The two men nodded, and just as Eagle was about to open his mouth to speak again he was knocked back by a hard spare pillow.

"You two, shut up," Wolf hissed. Eagle rubbed his head.

"Man, how did you even know I was about to say something?" Wolf groaned and Fox saw him pull a pillow over his head.

"Because you're Eagle," was the muffled reply.


	4. Chapter 4

**I don't know what I feel about this chapter. The ending isn't quite as good as I'd hoped. But it is like the longest chapter pretty much ever for me. So, I'm going to apologise now for not only the super long gap between chapters (please refer to my profile for more info on further updates) and also any spelling/grammar errors etc. **

**Also some swearing in this chapter. **

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter. And if you have the time please review/comment it's greatly appreciated!**

**:]**

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Cub woke at dawn, his early rising more instinctual than anything else. Wolf and the others were still asleep and remained that way as Alex quietly got dressed, though he did receive something that he assumed was a wave from Snake. The Scot was a fellow early-riser but he appreciated the chance to sleep in when he got it. Ben on the other hand slept like a rock. Eagle slept like a bloody starfish, limbs everything.  
"Jesus Eagle," Alex muttered, manoeuvring around the tall man's legs that were hanging of the side of the bed.

Wolf slept, well, he slept like a wolf. One eye and ear open all the time, a fact proven by the low grunt of annoyance Cub got in return for his whispered comment.

Alex stepped out of the hut into the crisp morning air. The sky was beginning to taint blue, no clouds in the sky, which meant the day was going to be the type of freezing that left your eyes dry and lips tingling. The dry cold of the air was already painting goosebumps up Alex's arms and the breath he exhaled condensed and spiralled upwards. He pulled a pair of fingerless gloves out of a pocket in his jacket and slipped them on as he began walking towards the cabin where the schoolkids were staying. His ex-schoolmates. God, this whole situation was fucked. There were so many ways this could turn ugly and turn ugly very, very quickly. He would have to speak to Tom soon, maybe later that day. But he'd have to do it in private. And he couldn't pull Tom aside himself, that would be way to obvious. _Think. _Wolf could do it, or Ben maybe. Actually Ben would be the better choice, but what cover would he use? Parent's call? Medicine? _Think_. Is Tom allergic to anything? Maybe, or make up some bullshit about a vitamin deficiency? Or maybe antibiotics? It has to be something relatively vital.

Alex broke out of his musings to find himself already at the front steps of the three cabins housing the kids. He allowed himself to put aside his worry and plans for a moment to appreciate what was about to happen. To be fair, some of the kids didn't deserve this. But some _really_ did. He pulled a key out of his pocket and headed to the middle hut, that was Tom's, and Alex figured it owed his best friend a half decent awakening at least. He silently opened the doors, thankful that Eagle had thought to oil to the locks so they could sneak in. Eagle and Cub had a number of plans involving clothing items, mud and a _lot_ of water, but those plans could wait for a few days.

Alex moved to Tom's bed and knelt down. He simultaneously placed a hand over Tom's mouth and shook his shoulder. The black haired boy jerked awake momentarily in a state of panic but that panic turned to confusion and then anger very quickly. Alex removed his hand from Tom's shoulder to place a finger on his lips, once Tom had, begrudgingly, nodded his agreement Alex removed the hand from his mouth. As Tom was about to speak Alex cut in.

"I swear I will tell you everything later but right now we can't talk. I'll get someone to pull you aside later today," Alex paused. "Look, mate, I know it probably doesn't mean much but I am sorry for lying," Tom still looked angry. Alex sighed and stood up. "Later today okay?" He waited once again for Tom's nod. Alex turned away from the bed but paused halfway, he glanced back at Tom. "Play along, we can't give you special treatment," he whispered. "Oh, and cover your ears," he said, reaching into a trouser pocket. Tom cocked his ear, looking confused for a moment then somewhat terrified as he recognised the look of evil delight on his old friend's face as the blonde pulled some kind of whistle and an air horn out of his pocket. Alex raised the whistle to his lips as he stalked to the middle of the room and held up the air horn. As Alex inhaled, Tom threw his hands over his ears.

It didn't really help.

The whistle was piercingly loud and the air horn was definitely not the ones normal people could get their hands on. Tom saw at least two kids flip out of their beds in shock.

"UP'N'ATTEM' SPROUTS! WE GOT THINGS TO DO!" Alex shouted as he stalked out of the cabin.

A few moments later the noise started up again from the cabin next to theirs. The commotion stopped ever so briefly but the delicate silence was immediately broken by another thunderous yell from the young spy.

"WHAT'S THAT? I COULDN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE NOISE," whatever answer was given by whoever voiced their irritation was drowned out by another blast from the air horn.  
"SORRY, WHAT?"

Tom didn't think Alex sounded very sorry.

Again the noise stopped briefly only to pick up again in the last cabin. When Alex stalked out of there he yelled out again.

"YOU HAVE EXACTLY TWO MINUTES AND THIRTY SECONDS TO BE OUTSIDE. REMEMBER, FOR YOU BREAKFAST IS OPTIONAL," Alex smirked at the sudden sounds of two dozen teens struggling to pull on clothes and stumble out into the freezing morning air.

Across the grounds, Snake and Wolf were staring out to where the schoolkid's cabins were. Recruits being woken at early hours was hardly a rare incident at Beacon but Alex seemed to be taking a particular joy in it. Lion, an American ex-marine sniper from E-Unit who currently had the cabin next to K-Unit's, emerged into the grey light and glanced across to Wolf.

"Is that Cub?"

Wolf nodded. "Yes, yes it is,"

The American raised his eyebrows.

"Shit, the kid's got a set of lungs on him,"

Snake and Wolf nodded in unison.

Lion yawned and ran a hand through his mop of straw blonde hair. "I can't say I'm jealous that the brats are your responsibility," he said, a slight smirk playing on his lips, not missing the look of irritation that passed over Wolf's face. "So what exactly does Cub have planned?"

Snake and Wolf glanced at each other. Snake just shrugged.

"Something to do with the lake I think,"

Lion raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wow," he remarked. "Sucks to be them,"

Cub paced back and forth in front of the students in complete silence. He'd gone through basic, he knew what made recruits nervous and silence was one of those things. After a good five minutes he stopped and glanced at his watch.

"Dearie me, two minutes thirty three seconds," he tutted. "Well, no breakfast it is," he said casually, shrugging as the kids erupted into angry chatter. Several of the boys seemed to be eying him up and Alex had to hide a smirk. No doubt that one would try to start something before the end of the day. Eventually the children muttered themselves out and quietened down again. Alex let the silence sit for a moment before talking. "Today, or at least this morning," he started. "I am your tour guide," he announced, spreading his arms with a grin. "First stop, the place you would be eating breakfast had you been a little quicker to get up this morning," with that Alex stalked off with the students trailing behind him.

Over at the cabin, Wolf decided it was time to wake Fox and Eagle. Partly because they would probably want food and a hungry Eagle is not something Wolf wanted to deal with but also because they all knew Alex didn't like some of the kids. And, if this morning's wake up was anything to go by, the teenage superspy was a hell of a lot more creative than they had given him credit for. He turned to enter the cabin with Snake following. Snake immediately moved to wake up Fox, simply shaking the younger man's shoulder jarred Fox awake. Eagle however, required a little more cajoling. Wolf, ever so subtly kicked him out of his bed then stalked off in the direction of the mess hall barking,

"Eagle. Get up."

The lanky soldier picked himself up off the floor muttering about how sudden wake ups were bad for one's health.

K-Unit's adult members met up at the mess hall just as Cub was leaving with the students in tow.

"And that, Squirts, is what you get foodwise when you're not slow out of bed,"

Eagle and Fox glanced at each other as several of the boys glared murderously at Cub's back, it seemed that maybe Eagle would win the bet after all. The four soldiers quickly grabbed some food before tailing the students and Cub down to the lake.

Alex was well aware of the hate filled looks he was getting, but that's what happened when the government sent children to an SAS camp. Well, obviously he was a different thing altogether but that wasn't the point. The point was that Alex knew Blunt was aware of how much he would dislike this situation, Alex also knew that if the children whined to their parents, the complaints would eventually reach back to Blunt. So Alex was going to make this camp the worse three weeks of the students' lives.

Alex stopped in front of the lake and turned to face the students. He glanced over the group, they had organised like all children, the brave ones in the front, the weak and nervous ones at the back and the jocks halfway in between. And it was those arrogant ones that Alex was interested in. He recognised a few, some of them he knew where the instigators of the worst rumours that had dogged him at Brooklyn. "This is the lake," Alex said plainly, sweeping an arm out to gesture at the expanse of water. He heard a faint 'no shit Sherlock,' but decided to let it slide for now. A smirk played at his lips. "Trust me when I say, regardless of how much some of you may enjoy swimming," he began. "You will _hate_ water when you leave here," Alex paused for a moment. "Let's move on,"

The students were in chaos as they followed the thief-hostage-drug dealer-thug-assassin-spy around the camp. It seemed every time the guy spoke four more theories would pop up. Brandon couldn't shake the weird feeling that he's seen the bloke before. But right now his attention was focused on Lucas Marks, the fellow athlete was hot headed and had a temper. Brandon and Lucas weren't best buddies but there was a friendship there and Brandon really didn't like the way Marks was muttering.  
"Lucas, chill out. So the guy's a twat, who gives a shit?" he whispered. The dark haired boy threw him a light glare.  
"Are you not hearing what he's saying or something? Keeps calling us 'squirts' and shit like that,"  
Brandon was so distracted by attempting to calm Lucas that he didn't noticed the mass of ropes and wood that was the assault course or the four soldiers who were now tailing a lot closer to the students.

"Fox, are you hearing this?"  
"No, Eagle I'm deaf but MI6 still accepted me,"  
"Wait…what?"  
"Sarcasm, Eagle, Christ,"  
"Oh, okay. But I thought I'd remind you, our bet still stands in my favour even if Cub doesn't throw the first punch,"  
"Why does that matter?"

Alex's voice rang out again of the chatter of the students. "Unfortunately, we don't have a baby pen for you lot. But this course should suffice," he grinned.

Lucas snarled. _Who the fuck did this guy think he was? The youngest kid here was just under seventeen and the oldest had turned eighteen a few weeks back. They weren't children._ He started pushing himself to the front of the group. Brandon put a hand on his arm to stop him but Lucas just shook it off. "I'm gonna break his fucking nose,"

"_I'm going to break his fucking nose,"  
_"Hear that Fox? Cub's gonna flip,"  
"…Fuck,"

Alex was continuing with his speech. "As the point of this is to familiarise yourself with the camp all of you will run the course. When you are all finished then we'll give you food," Alex chuckled, oblivious to the angry young man heading his way. "You know, maybe Squirts. If there's any -unf," there was a dull thud as Alex was tackled into the ground.

Both Snake and Fox immediately moved forward but Wolf held out an arm. "Wait, I kinda want to see how this plays out,"

Alex had been expecting hostility but he hadn't been expecting an actual attack. The sudden contact triggered an instinctual reaction from Alex, and rolling with the tackle he maneuvered himself and his assailant so when they rolled to a stop he was on top. The kid managed to throw a punch that glanced off Alex's jaw. That when Cub stopped playing nice. He flipped the kid onto his stomach with ease and pinned one hand under his knee. Alex grabbed the kid's other hand and twisted it behind his back, he braced a hand on the kid's shoulder and lent down to the boy's ear.

"Test me again _Squirt_ and I will break your arm," he hissed before smacking the kid over the head and getting up. Dusting the dirt and mud off his arms and chest as best he could, Alex turned to face the rest of the students. Most of them were staring at the dark haired kid currently moaning into the mud and clutching his arm. Alex frowned, then pointed at the assault course. "Now would be good," he barked. "Food, remember?" that seemed enough for most of the kids who started off over the first obstacle, giving Alex a wide berth. Alex glanced over at Wolf and the others as they approached, before turning back to the student who had attacked him. Alex nudged the kid with his foot. "That's you too Squirt," he snapped, ignoring the dirty look he got. He rubbed his ribs sullenly as Wolf and the others approached.

Wolf threw a hand on his shoulder. "You okay Cub?"

Alex nodded. "I'm fine, kid doesn't know how to throw a punch,"

Wolf nodded sharply. "Good, good," he paused. "Come on, we can probably walk to the end of the course and beat them all there,"

Alex smirked. "I wouldn't be surprised by that at all,"

As the group moved off, Eagle and Fox hung a few paces back. The former with a massive grin on his face at the expense of the latter. Eagle opened his mouth only to be beaten by Fox.

"I swear to God if you gloat about this I will throw your sheets in the lake," he deadpanned.

Eagle swallowed and then nodded.

"So…nice…weather, yeah?"

There was a long sigh.

"Eagle?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up,"


End file.
